International Women’s Day – a Step Towards Gender Empowerment
International Women’s Day – a Step towards Gender Empowerment By – Keshab Chandra Mandal, Ph. D. E-Mail: mandalkeshab2013@gmail.com Introduction About one and a half centuries have elapsed since John Stuart Mill, the British Member of Parliament spoke vehemently in the Parliament for the voting right of women. Mill, the foreseer politician and philosopher, perfectly understood the necessity of voting right for women because it is the only weapon by which women can play decisive role in electing representatives of their choice and getting elected in democratic decision-making bodies. However, more than one hundred years later of Mill’s advocacy, the United Nations General Assembly accelerated the process by proclaiming the year 1975 as the International Women’s Year. This declaration was a turning point in the sphere of women’s empowerment. The United Nations Organization also declared 1976-1985 as the Decade for Women with a view to examine the status and rights...